CHESTER could be directly linked to Liverpool John Lennon Airport by rail if plans to reopen a section of track get the go-ahead.

The North Cheshire Rail Users' Group (NCRUG) is pushing for trains to run regularly to and from North Wales to Liverpool via the Halton Curve, on which 18 trains currently run per year in the Chester to Runcorn direction only.

Frank Thomas, publicity officer for the NCRUG, said: 'We want to see the service reinstated. We hope it will take traffic off the road. But we believe it will be a good access into Liverpool.

'With the amount of people going into Liverpool Airport and the increased numbers it is important that public transport is used. Because the more cars we get off the road, the better it is environmentally for us.'

Mr Thomas explained: 'Either another track will have to be built or bidirectional points fitted to allow trains to use the track in both directions.'

The NCRUG is encouraged by a point highlighted in the government's aviation white paper which mentions the need for 'improved public transport links' to Liverpool John Lennon Airport.

Stephen Welch, chief executive of Chester's Chamber of Commerce, said: 'We would be very supportive of the proposal, particularly with Liverpool Airport rapidly expanding. This would give an important transport link between Liverpool Airport and the city of Chester, which is the gateway to North Wales.

'One of the ways in which we are encouraging people to visit Chester, whether it be for leisure or retail, is to use public transport and anything that would encourage that we would welcome.'

The Halton Curve runs from North Wales and Chester to Runcorn and Liverpool via Frodsham and Helsby.

Mr Thomas said the use of the Halton Curve 'would give people in Frodsham and Helsby the opportunity to get a quicker train into Liverpool and they would not have the harassment of Runcorn Bridge at the moment'.

Mr Thomas also highlighted the present 'impossibility of getting to Liverpool for normal working times' for rail commuters who have to travel there via Chester, Ellesmere Port or Warrington.

The NCRUG says another advantage of using the Halton Curve would be that rail freight could be diverted off the speed sensitive West Coast Main Line to other routes with less stress attached to them.

Mr Thomas said: 'There's really not a lot of scope for freight on the mainline. With a lot of freight coming into the Mersey Docks, the Halton Curve would be an escape route to places such as Birmingham and Felixstowe.'

Mike Hall, MP for Weaver Vale, called the regular use of the Halton Curve 'a fantastic idea'.

He said: 'It makes good transport policy. It completes the railway network in the North West.

'It's a question of whether we can persuade the people upgrading the West Coast Main Line to upgrade this as well or whether it can be done as a discreet project on its own.'

Mr Thomas said a major problem was that if a rail operating company was identified they would have to provide rolling stock.

'There is very little on the open market for general use at the moment,' he said. 'But of course if someone provided the money they could go out and build some new ones.'

A Cheshire County Council spokeswoman said: 'We have been supporting the retention of the Halton Curve for some time. We have written to the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) pointing out that it would allow for further rail services between North Wales, Chester, Helsby, Frodsham, Runcorn and Liverpool, and also pointing out the importance of John Lennon Airport.'